Rocky Mountain Gamer: Microsoft appears well-armed to battle Sony

When Sony revealed its upcoming PS4 system in February, the gaming world was taken aback with its power. Sony wanted to move into the next generation of gaming with power to spare.

So, for the past three months, those of us who analyze the gaming industry for a living quietly pondered, "What could Microsoft do to counter?"

Enter Xbox One.

On Tuesday, Microsoft unveiled its next console and announced that it will release before the end of the year.

The first thing you notice about the Xbox One is the system's no-nonsense design: It's a large, black rectangle in alternating glossy and matte-black finishes, with a disc slot on one side and a blank panel on the other. (Whether anything is under that panel was not revealed.)

Accompanying the console is the next-generation Kinect sensor. A combination motion sensor, camera and microphone array, the Kinect is key to the Xbox One's experience. It ties in the (barely) redesigned controller and the updated Xbox Glass experience to integrate all your control options.

Tying things together seems to be the theme of Xbox One. While gaming is clearly at the system's forefront -- Microsoft announced there will be 15 exclusive titles in the first 12 months -- the Xbox One is aiming much, much higher.

With home theaters becoming more and more complicated, Microsoft wants to simplify things by having everything go through your Xbox One.

You can access television, music, movies, games and Internet through a single interface on the home page of the Xbox One. No more having to choose the right input on your television and your receiver, turning components on and off as you move between your choice of entertainment.

It's still not completely clear how live TV will stream through the system (or if all carriers will work), though Microsoft did disclose that the console includes an HDMI input, apparently as a way to connect a set-top box.

The goal of the interconnectivity is to give users the ability to switch between programming simply by saying the words "TV" or "Game," features we've seen in science-fiction movies that have never been attained.

The power behind the system comes from a massive 8-core, x86 processor, 8GB of high-speed RAM and a Blu-ray drive. Additionally, each system will come standard with a 500GB hard-drive, built-in wireless and three high-speed USB 3.0 ports.

All of this technical mumbo jumbo means the Xbox One is more than capable of competing against the PS4.

Of course, this is a game console, and none of this will mean much without good games to play.

While Microsoft is holding off making the majority of its announcements another few weeks, until the annual E3 show, it tantalized the audience with a few game announcements.

Notably, Microsoft revealed a new strategic partnership with Electronic Arts, highlighting some of the industry's biggest sports franchises. "Madden Football 25th Anniversary," "FIFA Soccer 14," "NBA Live 14" and "UFC Ultimate Fighting" will appear within the first year of the console's debut.

The short video of early gameplay footage was quite impressive, with sharp graphics and fluid, realistic animations.

However, that paled in comparison to the first footage shown of this year's "Call of Duty: Ghosts."

From the developer behind the "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" series, "Ghosts" uses an all-new game engine to power the most ambitious "Call of Duty" outing yet. In fact, Oscar-winning writer Stephen Gaghan ("Traffic," "Syriana") provides the script.

With a promise that all "Call of Duty: Ghosts" content will come to the Microsoft systems first, this game could be the "killer app" every console wants for its launch.

Other games such as "Forza 5," "Thief," "Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag," "Quantum Break" and "Watch_Dogs" have been announced for the system.

Additional features such as built-in Skype and a partnership with the NFL provide sprinkles to the sundae Microsoft showed off at its media event.

With two new powerhouse consoles coming in time for the holidays, gamers will have some difficult decisions to make.

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